Just Another Experiment
by Vonna Plum
Summary: A mysterious note compels Zexion to find out what it feels like to be a somebody; to have a heart. The note has a simple experiment on it. Its main component? Someone who displays a lot of emotions. That’s your cue, Demyx. Zemyx Giftfic.
1. 9th November

**Just An Experiment**

**Overall Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Characters, nor do I own Kingdom Hearts, or Dissidia, or anything else you can recognise.  
Pairing: **Zemyx. Mild Akuroku that can be seen as friendship.  
**Rating:** K+ to T  
**Warning:** Nothing as of yet.  
**Genre:** Romance/Friendship/Drama. Fluff.  
**Note:** **For FinalFallenFantasy, who gets this giftfic because she's just awesome like that.**

**Full Summary:  
A mysterious note compels Zexion to find out what it feels like to be a somebody; to have a heart. The note has a simple experiment on it. Its main component? Someone who displays a lot of emotions. Demyx opens a whole new door for Zexion, full of fun and happiness, all of which are foreign to him. But what happens when the experiment is completed, and Zexion, the socially challenged, no longer has a legitimate reason to spend time with Demyx?**

**Author's Note:**  
Woohoo for first longish Zemyx! This is for FinalFallenFantasy, because she's been an awesome reviewer to many of my fanfics, so I thought she deserved something. This fanfic kept growing and growing and growing, I was intending for it to be a one shot, but… yeah. I got this idea while drawing a picture of Zexion reading a book on my brand new sexy graphics tablet. There should be linkage on my profile to the picture, if I remember to put it up. If not, it'll be on my dA.

**Also, sorry if this fanfic is updated rather slowly-- exams are looming again, and I don't know shit.** No joke. so I need to study like hell or my dad won't buy me KH358/2 Days (WHICH STILL HASNT BEEN RELEASED IN AUSTRALIA!! WTF!!!)

Also, I've become really obsessed with Katekyo Hitman Reborn!! So it might get a little harder to write this, but who knows. I doubt it, I have the whole plot set out, so...

Anyway, this will probably be five chapters or so long. That's the planned length. But mind you, the original planned length was a oneshot, and then a twoshot, then a threeshot....

**R & R, Enjoy,  
V. Plum. **

---

**Chapter 1 – 9****th**** of November.**

_"…If this doesn't work, nothing will."_

There was a reason Zexion was called the Cloaked Schemer. Even though he was one of the youngest members in the Organisation, more than a few would deny that he was the smartest. Some ventured into saying he was a genius. In some ways, he was one of Xemnas' trump cards; he was not strong, but he was well informed. Manipulative. Smart. He was always reading, always soaking up the unimaginable amounts of knowledge in the Castle's archives. If Zexion wasn't on a mission, then he was in the library, it was as simple as that.

"AXEL!"

Zexion sighed, slipping his glasses off with a frown. Axel had never been so disruptive until number thirteen had arrived. Zexion stood, shutting his book with a soft snap. He glanced at Kingdom Hearts out the only window of the library. Judging from the position of the moon, it had to be around 10PM now. He picked up his books and papers into one stack and left the library quietly—the last thing he wanted to do was attract the attention of VIII. He quickly made his way to his room, shuffling pass a moogle with an organization coat. Zexion vaguely wondered who made all the organization coats, and who would bother to make smaller sizes for moogles…

"GYAH!" Zexion's papers were sent flying, and his books fell to the ground, pages creasing upon impact. Zexion winced slightly.

"VIII. What the hell do you think you're doing at this time of night?"

"Ehehe… Sorry, Zexy. You shouldn't have been daydreaming like that, it's dangerous for someone as young and as small as you." Axel bent down to pick up Zexions belongings, ignoring his heated offended glare, "Come on, aren't you gonna help me pick up your stuff?" Zexion stared down at him, feeling his superiority kick in.

"No. You're the reason they're down there, you do it," Zexion paused then added, "And while you're at it, smooth out those creased pages, and tie my shoelaces."

Axel grinned and stroked a crease out pointedly, murmuring, "Yes master". Zexion narrowed his eyes, clearly not amused by the redhead's immature antics.

"YES! I found y—oh. Uhm, hi, Zexion." Roxas ran up to them. Zexion turned at his name, raising an eyebrow.

"Do I even want to know…?" Zexion sighed again.

"No." Roxas blushed, looking around the short slate haired boy to Axel. Zexion turned back again and caught Axel giving Roxas a thumbs-up, but the redhead hid his thumb behind his back when Zexion turned around.

"What's going on…?" Zexion queried suspiciously. Axel replied without missing a beat.

"We're playing a tag game where we have to find each other, and when the finder finds the hider, the hider has to give the finder a thumbs-up, and if the hider forgets to give a thumbs-up, they have to sing a nursery rhyme. Roxas thinks it's an embarrassing game, but I think it's great. We were so bored before… want to join in?" Axel scratched the back of his head sheepishly. The look on the other's face was a good enough answer. Zexion snorted, if anyone other than Axel had said that, he would have thought they were lying. Axel stood and handed Zexion's belongings back to him, giving a very small apologetic smile.

"Right, well… I get a ten second head start!" Roxas exclaimed before running away again. Ten seconds later, Axel ran off as well, smirking widely. Zexion sighed and continued his way to his room without anymore impediments. He closed the door to his room quietly and set his things down onto his desk, sifting through them to make sure everything was still there after their collision with VIII. His brows furrowed together when he checked his favourite lexicon. He put his back against a wall with the lexicon in his hands. The pages were still a little creased, but nothing seemed out of place…

Zexion flicked through it carefully, and found a slip of paper around the middle. It was a little crinkled. He'd never put a piece of paper in here before. He flipped the mysterious sheet of paper over and found a message on the other side, written in horrible handwriting. The words on the page slowly got bigger and bigger as the writer went and they were quite legible.

**Understanding Hearts**

**In order for one to understand the workings of a heart, one must first surround oneself with people who have heart.**

**Living by oneself in the desert as a hermit will not cause a sudden epiphany. This is because by oneself, one can only study ones own heart, and this can lead to unreliable biased results.**

**Therefore, the best way to study a heart is to surround oneself with a person who displays a lot of emotion. This person must be someone one does not know well—this will minimalise any biased opinions.**

**After doing this simple experiment, one will definitely be able to understand what it means to have a heart.**

**Signed,**

**Flan… Key…**

Below the last word there was a signature, to which Zexion could only make out bits and pieces of it. Zexion scanned over the message again. It was written poorly, in a format that made a mockery of an informative piece of writing. What kind of example was a hermit in a desert? And why didn't they state that it was an example? Unless they were implying that he personally was a hermit in the desert, which was a complete load of rubbish. And 'minimalise' wasn't even a word! Whoever this Flan person was, they certainly didn't have very good English, or script. But maybe Zexion was just being pedantic, because they did raise an interesting concept. A concept that was definitely stirring Zexion's curiosity.

It wasn't like he didn't understand hearts. He understood them perfectly; both in an anatomical sense and in a philosophical sense. He knew that the fact that they, nobodies, were living was scientifically impossible because they didn't have hearts to pump blood through them. And he knew that the reason he didn't feel anything emotionally was because he didn't have a heart, which was said to be where all emotion comes from. But he could remember some emotions, though. Most prominently, he remembered hatred, jealousy and depression. Though he could not remember why he remembered those three the most. He had very little memory of more… positive emotions. Zexion narrowed his eyes and looked up in thought; he knew surprise, content… perhaps the vaguest, vaguest remnants of love.

Well, if he couldn't remember what it felt like to be in love, than he mustn't have been in love for very long, or it mustn't have been very strong…

Curiosity began to gather in the back of Zexion's mind. It was a very simple experiment, and it did make a lot of logical and common sense. Perhaps doing it would reveal other emotions that he once knew, or perhaps it would strengthen his memory of the ones he already knew. Zexion shut his book and placed it back on his desk, before walking over to his bedroom window and sitting on the wide ledge. He wondered if he could stand being around someone with such a different personality to his own. Spending time with someone who displays a lot of emotion would be like putting two polar opposites together… only polar opposites attract… well, they attracted scientifically, but not… what was the word… 'relationship-wise'? Zexion sighed, he felt as though Flan's horrible skills in English were rubbing off onto him somehow.

Zexion stared up at Kingdom Hearts, in all it's perfectly symmetrical glory. Rain hit his window at a steady pace. He knew there were hundreds more emotions that existed besides the ones he remembered. He could probably name them, but it'd be like knowing a name without a face. Meaningless. Zexion huffed slightly to himself, he didn't like not understanding things, especially abstract things. He'd spent his whole life (and probably his whole 'somebody life') knowing that with his intelligence…

Zexion saw something twirl in his peripheral, and looked down at Dark City. Below, a small figure was spinning, maybe dancing, with huge waves of water flowing around him. Translucent figures (definitely forms) danced around the figure, grabbing onto other forms shaped as music notes and… pretending to play the guitar with them. The blonde figure held a real sitar, and was shredding on it at an insanely rapid pace, though Zexion couldn't hear the music over the rain. Who was that down there? An organization member?

Yes, there was definitely a member in the Organization that had an affinity for water… who was it again… IX. What was his name again? Remix? Demix? Demyx!

Suddenly, IX threw his head back, his hands still playing the blue sitar at the same incredible speed, grinning widely as the rain hit his face, slicking back dirty blonde hair.

'_A person that displays a lot of emotion…'_

'_Someone one doesn't know well…'_

Zexion's mouth broke into a tiny smirk. He got up quickly, flicking the hood of his coat up and summoning a black portal.

He was glad he wasn't the only one who was nocturnal.

---

Outside, the rain seemed to be even heavier. Zexion walked through the rain slowly, making sure to keep himself unnoticed by the blonde sitarist. He had to make sure that Dimix, no wait… _Demyx_ was the right candidate for his little experiment. The rain showed no signs of stopping, and he could feel the water beginning to soak through his coat. Zexion stood behind a staircase in the shadows, watching the sitarist.

Up closer, Zexion could hear the sitar. Demyx had stopped the fast paced song he'd been playing earlier, and was now playing a much slower song. Zexion blinked in mild surprise when he heard the other's voice begin to sing over the arpeggios and chords. It was perfectly in tune, and it was really clear, even in the low notes. Demyx pointed at one of the forms, grinning wildly, and the form grabbed a music note form and began playing it, a second guitar joined the blonde and they played together. Zexion's eyes widened slightly, that was pretty impressive... forms were primarily used in battle, he'd never seen a form do anything but fight until now…

"Are you going to come out of your little hiding place any time soon, Zexion?" Demyx called still playing guitar, though the other forms melted away. Zexion stepped out, feeling like a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar. He also felt a little bad at the fact that Demyx knew his name, while he'd struggled to remember the other's name only a couple moments ago.

"How did you know I was there?" Zexion asked quietly. Demyx laughed.

"I made this rain so, I feel everything it hits… and you're soaked to the bone."

"You're soaked too."

"Yeah, but I like being wet. If you haven't noticed yet, I can control water." Demyx wriggled his fingers at Zexion as though he was casting a magical spell. Zexion snorted, and Demyx laughed again. He wondered how it was possible for one person to laugh so much.

"So…" Zexion regretted not thinking this through before coming down here, it was probably the most impulsive thing he'd ever done in his whole life, "What are you… doing?"

"Well, I felt like playing in the rain, but it wasn't raining… so I made it rain and you know…" Demyx blushed a little, Zexion was about to reply, but he sneezed instead, "Oh crap, sorry, you're probably freezing, uhm…" Demyx scratched the back of his neck as the rain immediately stopped, "So, why're you down here?"

… Crap.

Zexion looked up at the sky and pretended that he was impressed at how Demyx could control the rain, but really, he was just buying time. What was Axel's excuse for doing pointless things again?

"… I was bored." Zexion lied.

"Well… Why didn't you just read a book like you always do?"

"… I was bored of the book I was reading."

"Oh… okay." Demyx grinned, accepting the lie with an understanding tone, as though he went through the same kind of boredom every day. The two of them stood awkwardly for a moment before Demyx suddenly grinned. He dropped his sitar, and it melted away like water.

"Well, I'm sick of being soaked," Demyx snapped his fingers, and all the small droplets of water on his skin and hair flew off him and dropped to the ground as well, "How about some food?" He snapped his fingers again and all the water droplets on Zexion came off as well. Zexion slowly touched his hair, holding back his incredulous expression. His hair was still a little damp, as were the clothes under his coat, but his face and coat were dry. Zexion wondered why someone would learn how to do such trivial things, when they had the power to make it rain…

"… Food?"

"Heh, yeah, you know, the stuff that sustains us? I thought you were smart, but in person you seem sorta slow… No offense," Demyx paused to let Zexion answer, but he didn't, so Demyx continued rambling, "Like, you're not slow in a retarded way," He began walking back to the castle gesturing for Zexion to follow, "But sort of in a way that makes you seem more approachable and more relaxed than you look from the distance. Not that you look like a cold person from the distance. And not that I look at you from the distance or anything, I just…" Demyx paused awkwardly before continuing, "… I want waffles."

Zexion scrunched his nose in confusion. Demyx was so weird; why were they walking back to the castle when it was a twenty minute walk, and they had portals? And why did he talk so much?

"What?"

"Uhh, the conversation was getting a little awkward, so I just changed the subject. It's easier that way. What do you want?"

"I'd hardly call this a conversation…" Zexion muttered under his breath, not intending Demyx to hear.

"Why?"

"Eh? Oh… well, because you were doing all the talking, so…"

"Oh, sorry, do I talk too much?" Demyx laughed.

"Yes." Zexion said bluntly, not really thinking. Demyx stopped laughing and blinked in surprise.

"Oh…" Demyx trailed off and the two of them walked in silence. They made their way to the kitchens, passing another moogle at the entrance to the castle.

"Hi Linaly!" Demyx greeted the moogle, who nodded back. Zexion raised an eyebrow. Demyx knew the name of the moogles…? Linaly turned her big head at Zexion, looking him up and down, and then holding out her hand.

"Uh…" Zexion looked at Demyx, who smiled.

"She wants your shards and stones."

"Oh." Zexion rummaged through his pockets for a second, and when he looked up again, Linaly was giving Demyx two thumbs up. Zexion furrowed his eye brows and handed the moogle his miscellaneous shards and such. Why was everyone giving each other thumbs-up around him when he wasn't looking? It left as though everyone was conspiring against him.

"Thanks Linaly," Demyx smiled and patted the moogle on her head as she nodded again, "See you later!" The two nobodies started making their way to the kitchens, as they left, Zexion turned back again, and saw Linaly still staring at them. She stared back at him, and then suddenly gave him two thumbs-up as well.

_Good Luck, kupo._

Zexion took in a sharp breath from shock, turning back around. The voice in his head laughed a little. He'd forgotten that moogles could speak to them in their heads, because the castle's moogles just didn't talk, so he'd assumed that they were mute, or just as antisocial as he was…

"You're probably wondering why I know that moogle," Demyx chuckled, "And you probably think that I know all the moogles here, am I right?"

He wasn't right, but Zexion wanted to know why anyway, so he nodded.

"I don't know all of them, just that one, Linaly, and the one closest to the Hall of Empty Melodies. His name is Benjamin. All the other ones are sort of… silent."

"I see." Zexion raised an eyebrow. Demyx had basically implied that he'd tried to talk to all of the moogles, but they'd all ignored him... which was sort of pathetic.

They walked into the kitchen and Demyx went over to the fridge.

"What did you want, again?"

"Nothing."

"Okay," Demyx whistled as he rummaged through the freezer compartment of the fridge. Zexion took a seat at the table, propping his head up on his hand, using the backs of his fingers to subtly block his nose. Sometimes he hated his sense of smell; the fridge always smelled like a massive cataphony of a hundred different smells, and it wasn't pleasant at all. He looked out the window to Kingdom Hearts again. _Only 10:30?_

"I bet when you see my waffles, you'll wish you'd asked for some."

"I doubt that." Zexion sighed with relief when Demyx closed the fridge again.

"I doubt you doubt it." Demyx replied without missing a beat. Zexion sighed, a little bored, he wished he'd brought a book with him.

"I doubt you doubt I doubt it." Zexion replied under his breath a little airily, as though half of him had flown away to lala-land. It was rather unbecoming, and he surprised himself when he said it, but somehow, with Demyx, he didn't mind sounding like an idiot…

… because he was in the presence of another idiot.

"What?" Demyx laughed, "I know that you know that I know you know that you're not making any sense." Demyx ripped the new pack of frozen waffles open and dropped two into the toaster. He pushed the button down and began rummaging for something else.

"What?" Zexion was about to say that Demyx wasn't making any sense either, but after he thought over it in his mind, he found that it did make sense… sort of, in a weird repetitive way. Demyx's waffles popped out just as said blonde pulled a bottle of syrup out of a pristine white cupboard. Zexion had to admit, they did smell pretty good. Demyx put the waffles on a plate and twisted the top of the syrup bottle and squeezed an enormous amount of the sweet substance onto it. He pulled out the silverware drawer and withdrew two forks than sat down next to Zexion.

"I said I didn't want any." Zexion repeated, though the smell was absolutely to die for, which was really saying something because Zexion rarely ate sweet food.

"When you're watching me eat it, you'll want it. They're waffles for God's sake, who doesn't want them?" Demyx cut off a piece with the side of his fork, stabbed it and put it in his mouth, moaning in ecstasy, "These are soooo good, Zexy—I mean, Zexion." Demyx corrected himself quickly with a blush. Zexion raised an eyebrow. It was true that he didn't like that nickname, but everyone called him that, so he'd given up correcting them.

"Err, it's okay if you call me that… everyone else does, so…" Zexion said sheepishly. He didn't mind Demyx calling him that, but he didn't really know why. He'd probably spoken to the blonde today more than he'd ever spoken to him in the past two years, and before today, he hadn't even known his name… his personality was annoying at times, but Zexion liked it… uh, wait no, he 'tolerated' it, because it was for the experiment… yes.

He'd forgotten all about the experiment.

"Really? I can call you that?" Demyx grinned yet again, "But every time I see someone call you that you your face, you get this disapproving face, so I thought maybe I shouldn't… 'cause you don't like it…"

"You noticed that…?" Zexion raised an eyebrow.

"Well, yeah, but… it's not like…" Demyx looked down at his waffles, taking another bite and avoiding eye contact. Zexion smirked a little, deciding to save the poor guy from his misery. He picked up the other fork.

"I've never had one of these before."

"Huh?"

"Waffles."

"**WHAT?!**" Demyx exclaimed, dropping his fork in shock. Zexion leaned away from Demyx, surprised by his sudden outburst. They'd been sitting too closely together anyway.

"You HAVE to try it! How can you—What was your childhood like without—What?!" Demyx blubbered, still unable to comprehend life without waffles.

"Well, I was born a nobody at the age of 18, and I don't remember being a somebody, so I don't really have a childhood."

"You're EIGHTEEN?!"

"… Uh… yes?"

"But you're so shor— I mean… you look so young! That's great! I thought I must be some kind of sick ped—err…" Demyx trailed off, "… Try some waffles." Zexion snorted. That had to be the number one rule IX stuck to; When things get awkward, change the subject.

"You put too much syrup on them though."

"Too much syrup?! _Too much syrup?!_" Demyx yanked the fork from Zexion, his expression resembling an outraged Mad Hatter, but perhaps not as crazy, "There is no such thing as 'too much' when it comes to waffles, not-as-young-as-I-thought Grasshopper." Demyx cut off a generous piece for Zexion, stuck it on a fork and gave it to him.

"That's too much—"

"What did I just say?!" Demyx glared. Zexion rolled his eyes and ate the piece of waffle.

It was amazing. It was probably the sweetest thing Zexion had ever tasted in his whole life, but _damn_, it was good. He could even go as far as to say it was the best thing he'd ever tasted in his whole life!

"Is it good? Huh?"

"… It's alright." Zexion replied. Demyx's eyes widened and his cheeks went a very slight pink.

"What?" Zexion wiped his mouth just in case.

"You just… smiled."

"What? No I didn't." Zexion frowned instantly, as if to prove a point.

"Yeah, you did. It was very very very very very very small, so maybe you didn't feel it." Demyx held up his thumb and index finger together, with half a centermetre's distance between the pads.

"I didn't smile."

"You did."

"I didn't."

"You—oh, nevermind," Demyx smiled slyly, "… Have some more waffles." Zexion made a face at Demyx's coy look.

"Uh, no. I've had enough, thank you."

"Awh, Zexy!" Demyx pouted, "One more bite?"

"… No."

"One more smile?" Demyx asked hopefully.

"_No._"

"Hmph. Fine. But the memory of your sweet smiling face is forever embedding in my memory… for _blackmail_." Demyx laughed evilly. Zexion's eye twitched.

"… You're crazy."

"Today you've talked to me more than I've ever seen you talk to anyone at all. Maybe you've gone crazy." Demyx accused, though he was grinning goofily.

"… I'm not an emo, I do talk, you know."

"You never talk to me, though!" Demyx said in a singsong voice.

"You're crazy and you're weird," Zexion sighed, "I'm going to bed. This has been the craziest night ever." He stood and pushed his chair in.

"'Kay, Night, Zexy!" Demyx waved, still grinning, "We should do this again some time, it's so much fun!"

"Uh… Okay. Tomorrow night. Good Night, IV." Zexion left the kitchen, heaving a great big sigh.

Tonight really was the craziest night he'd ever had at the castle, he had made him so tired, and he'd only spent about an hour with the other nobody! But it was sort of… interesting. Zexion remembered what the experiment had said. That he had to surround himself with someone like Demyx in order to learn and feel more emotions… he'd have to spend more time with him even if he didn't want to.

… not that he was 100 percent reluctant to spend more time with the blonde.

… maybe only 75 percent reluctant.

---

**Who can spot the Dissidia reference?**


	2. 10th November

**Author's Note: **Forgive me if this moves a little quickly, or if Zexion seems OOC. I sometimes wonder if he should be more standoffish and reluctant, but that's not really the way I'd imagine him to be. He's not emo. Anyway, I have nothing else to say.

**R &R, Enjoy,  
V. Plum. **

---

**Chapter 2 – 10****th**** of November **

"_You cheating bastard!"_

"_I agree, four straight flushes in one game is definitely cheating, Luxord."_

"Sorry, but I won, fair and square, love._"_

"_Ugh, don't call me that. It's disturbing."_

"_Hah! Alright, ready for your… punishment?"_

"_Bring it on."_

"_I dare you to…"_

---

Zexion walked down a hallway, a rather heavy book tucked under his arm. His mind was reeling over seeing IX again. He didn't even know what to do, would he wait for IX to come to him? Should he go look for him? He had to do something; he wasn't someone who went back on their word. He didn't even know why he was thinking about this so much. Could he consider IX as a friend, now? Not really… when did the experiment end, anyway?

Zexion gasped as he tripped on a step. He shook the thoughts from his head and sighed. He tried pointedly not thinking about the experiment and Demyx, but in the end, that just made him think about it. Out of the peripheral of his eyes, he saw a moogle floating around the corner. He walked pass it a couple steps and then back tracked, furrowing his brows. Most moogles just stared into empty space until you gave them a shard or something.

But that moogle was definitely watching him.

Zexion looked around, and realized he was in the hallway just outside The Hallway of Empty Melodies… Zexion licked his lips slightly, and then whispered very softly;

"Are you… Benjamin?"

The moogle was silent, and Zexion's eye twitched. Hadn't Demyx said that the moogle here was—

_Are you… psychic? Kupo._

Zexion jumped slightly.

_Wait a second, wait a SECOND, kupo! You! You're Zexion! I knew you looked familiar, kupo!_

"Uhm, yes…?" Zexion whispered. He sort of felt like an idiot talking to a moogle, so he made sure the coast was clear before he said something to Benjamin.

_Oh my Yevon, no way! Dem was talking about you last night. He woke me up at 11PM at night, can you believe it? I whacked him for waking me up so late at night! Oh, and Linaly said that you were with him last night, too, kupo!_

This moogle was insanely talkative. It was no wonder he was friends with IX, he had a similar personality as well, which was sort of weird. Zexion regretted saying anything to the moogle, because he didn't have the heart to tell the moogle to stop talking to him… Benjamin swayed from side to side from what Zexion guessed was excitement, though his face was expressionless.

_So, kupo? Did you want to ask me something? Where Demyx is, maybe?_

Benjamin floated over to Zexion shoulder and nudged him twice, as if he was implying something.

"Uh, no, what are you trying to say?"

_You don't…? KUPO! Oh no, oh no! I'm so sorry, Demmy!_

The moogle held its palms up to the roof, looking up as though he was praying. Zexion wondered how it could see through the heavy hood of its coat.

"What is it?"

_Gyeh? I can't say, kupo._

"Tell me."

_No!_

"Come on, just tell me." Zexion huffed, his curiosity piquing.

_I said I wouldn't, kupo. If you don't have anything to say to me, than please go away._

Zexion's eye twitched at the sudden cold air of the moogle.

"Why can't you just—"

"Zexion…?"

Zexion spun around quickly, taking in a sharp breath and trying to hide the moogle behind him.

"Were you just talking to that moogle…?!" Xigbar's nose was scrunched, his visible eye was twitching. Zexion sighed, wearily. There was no way he could talk himself out of this. Benjamin stood perfectly still, as though Zexion had been the one doing all the talking, but Zexion could hear the moogle laughing. Zexion's face felt hot.

"Yes. I was," Zexion said bluntly, "Good day, II." Zexion turned promptly, and began to walk away briskly.

"Wait, wait, little dude!" Xigbar ran up to Zexion, "I was looking for you. Uh… A dusk gave this to me. And I think it wanted me to give this to you."

"A dusk…?" Zexion looked down at the little piece of paper Xigbar was holding.

"Err, yeah. I asked it where it got it from, but it said another dusk got it from another dusk who got it from a moogle who got it from a heartless who got it from a dusk who got it from a nobody. And the first dusk was sworn to secrecy. And that dusk that got it from another dusk who got it from a moogle who got it from a heartless who got it from a dusk who got it from a nobody gave it to the dusk that gave it to me. So…" Xigbar trailed off sheepishly as Zexion took the paper from Xigbar. He raised a brow at Xigbar's ridiculous rambling. He had a feeling that he knew what the piece of paper was…

"… Alright. Thanks," Zexion paused and added, "And don't you _dare _tell _anyone_ that I was talking to a moogle, or… you'll find yourself with a severe, severe case of Irritable Bowel Syndrome for the next_ six months_. Got it?" He threw his signature glare at Xigbar just to make sure he knew that he meant business. Xigbar's visible eye twitched and he nodded vigorously, before teleporting away.

Zexion snorted proudly, then looked down at the paper. It was folded in half, with 'Give This To VI' on the front of it. He opened it up and found a familiar scrawl inside.

**This experiment ends when;**

**One can feel emotions just as strongly as the subject can.**

**One remembers a minimum of thirty emotions; fifteen positive, fifteen negative.**

**One forfeits.**

**One remembers love.**

_Oh ho ho!_

"You!" Zexion exclaimed, suddenly noticing the fact that Benjamin had snuck over and was now reading over his shoulder, with his little paws mussing up Zexion's hair, "Get you're hands out of my hair! I hate you!" There was a gasp, and then Benjamin backed away with his big red nose down. Zexion walked away, not feeling guilty at all.

_You're a prick, kupo!_

Zexion's eyes narrowed, but he ignored Benjamin and turned out of the hallway.

---

Zexion sighed, trooping up long staircase. It looked to be around 10:30PM, but he couldn't be sure, because he couldn't see Kingdom Hearts. It was getting late, and he was getting sick of wandering around aimlessly when he could have spent his time reading. Someone had to be messing with his head, because he'd received two notes from the same person about the same thing. But he couldn't figure out who it was, or why they were doing it. The experiment seemed practically harmless; the only motive Zexion could see for making him do this was… to waste his time.

"OH GOD! WATCH OUT, ZEXY!"

Zexion looked up with wide eyes. Down the staircase came a massive slinky made entirely out of water. Its diameter had to be about a metre or so, and if it was fully stretched out it could be as long as a hallway. Zexion stood in horror as the slinky made its way down the staircase at an alarming pace. He was frozen from shock.

The slinky drew closer and closer, and when it reached Zexion, he ducked, his arms over his head for protection. The slinky landed perfectly on step he was standing on, hanging over the edge of the step a little and wobbling, with a loud sloshing noise. It didn't lose its shape though. For a second, Zexion found himself surrounded by a massive spiral of water, before the slinky bent and continued its way down the staircase. A familiar blonde ran down the stairs, grabbing onto Zexion's shoulders with wide concerned eyes.

"ARE YOU OKAY?!" Demyx huffed from running, "Why aren't you wet?!"

"… It… just missed me…" Zexion said breathlessly.

"Oh, thank God." Demyx sighed, letting go of Zexion's shoulders and wiping his forehead with relief. Suddenly, Zexion felt extremely pissed.

"What the HELL were you doing, making a slinky that big?! Forget that, what the HELL possessed you to even decide to make a slinky out of water?!"

"Uhm, well, at first, I was just bored, so I made little slinkies and raced them down the staircase, but then that got boring too, so I decided to make a massive one and see how long I could control it before it collapsed. I didn't think anyone would come up the stairs, so I made it really, really big. And then, you know, momentum and stuff, and I lost control, so…"

"I still don't understand why you do such trivial things with your water abilities, instead of training or doing something more productive."

"Pshh, productive things are boring," Demyx chuckled, "Anyway, I was waiting for you, where were you?"

"… Well, we didn't exactly pick a spot to meet up."

"Oh yeah…" Demyx laughed, "So, what d'you want to do?" Zexion shrugged, so Demyx continued, "Can you play an instrument?"

"Yes."

"Really? What instrument?"

"… The piano and the violin."

"Wow, that's so cool. I've never seen you play before though." Demyx exclaimed.

"I don't play them."

"Wha…?"

"Because I don't have a piano or violin."

"Well, yeah, but..." Demyx trailed off thoughtfully.

"I must have played them as a somebody."

"Huh," Demyx laughed, "I guess that makes sense. I feel like making a snowman." Zexion's eye twitched. Sometimes Demyx's spontaneous personality left him speechless.

"…There's no snow here, if you haven't realized by now."

"I know. But you know somewhere that _does _have snow? Christmas Town!" Demyx grinned.

"… Are you serious?"

"Well, yeah. Though we probably shouldn't go because it's right next to Halloween Town, and actually, I'm really scared of that kind of stuff. Once, Axel dared me to go to Halloween Town, so I had to go, and when I got there it was all creepy and stuff. But it wasn't that bad because it was sort of quiet and stuff. And I was walking through the graveyard, and this crazy white hankerchief ghost thing with a red nose appeared and started chasing me!" Demyx paused, but Zexion was still speechless, so he kept going, "And so, I ran away 'cause it was the weirdest thing ever, it was floating and flying and stuff. So I ran into the Town Square place, and there was a _guillotine _in the middle and everything! Creepiest thing ever, and then I got ambushed by these heartless that were like jack in the boxes, and at first I thought they weren't so scary, but then one of them opened, and it was like a _zombie_ with _knives_, and it was slashing and stuff at me!" Demyx made slashing movements with two karate chops at Zexion.

"Uhh… Demyx…"

"And then I tried to run away again, but I tripped and fell, and the jack in the boxes were coming closer, and I was freaking the hell out because it was the scariest thing ever, and then I looked up and I realized that I was right underneath the guillotine! So I scrambled out from under the guillotine, and just as I got away, the guillotine came down super fast and snagged my coat and made the massive gapping hole in my coat. And then I screamed, and tried to get up, but my sleeve was caught on this little sharp bit of wood sticking out of the side of the guillotine. And the jack in the boxes were coming closer and closer!"

"Demyx…" Zexion tried to cut in, because the blonde was starting to speak even faster and faster, until it seemed like he was hyperventilating just from telling a story.

"And then one of them opened, and I screamed and it was this soldier thing with a _gun_, and it was shooting it and stuff, but it kept missing me, which is good, I guess. Then I finally got free from the spiky thing, and I got this brilliant idea to summon a portal and just leave the world altogether, but I decided to run away first because I was scared that the jack in the box would follow me through the portal, so I ran back to the graveyard, and I summoned a portal, and I came back here! And that's the end! But it was the scariest thing ever! It was like being in a horror movie, that place is all decorated with all this creepy stuff and yeah." Demyx took in a deep, deep breath and heaved a great big sigh. He stared at Zexion, expecting some sort of reply. Zexion couldn't think of anything to say, it seemed to be quite a scary situation to be in but… if it were him, he would have just summoned a portal the moment he saw… the 'handkerchief ghost', but he doubted that that would've scared him anyway.

"Uhm… yeah, that sounds really scary." Zexion agreed anyway, "So maybe we shouldn't go to Christmas Town."

"No, no, we can go!" Demyx reassured, though he was still sort of huffing, and his eyes were still wide and scared, as if he was reliving the memory.

"But I heard Christmas Town gets lots of visits from Jack Skellington…"

"JACK SKELLINGTON?!"

"… err…" Zexion backed away slightly, he would have laughed if Demyx had been joking around, but the look on his face was so serious, it was starting to scare him too, "How about we… just get something to eat again."

"Thatsoundslikeawaybetteridea, letsgo." Demyx nodded vigorously. Zexion summoned a portal and ushered Demyx into it with a sigh. It was just like he'd guessed; spending time with Demyx was more tiring than running a 50km marathon.

---

The kitchen was empty when they got there. The only thing that could be heard was the soft ticking of a clock. Zexion sighed, heading the the fridge and pouring out two glasses of milk as Demyx sat down. He stuck one glass into a microwave, heating it for 45 seconds, and then sat down opposite Demyx with his own cold milk.

"Why're you heating up mine?" Demyx trailed off, gesturing at the microwave a little.

"Because you need it." Zexion said bluntly. It was obvious that Demyx needed soothing after his hysterics... but Zexion wasn't exactly the kind of person that rubbed people's backs and knew what to say off the top of his head, so...

"Wha...?"

"Warm milk is soothing." He replied, just as bluntly as before. Demyx's mouth dropped open slightly and he blushed. Zexion looked away to the microwave, a little embarrassed. Why was Demyx blushing? It was just a glass of milk for crying out loud, it was an old fashioned, stupid remedy. He watched the numbers count down for seven, and then stood up to get it.

"Here, just drink it." Zexion grumbled, giving it to Demyx, fighting down a bit of a blush too.

"Thanks..." Demyx mumbled before taking a small sip. Zexion took a large gulp from his. The two of them sat in silence for a while before Demyx finally perked up, his glass already less than half full.

"... I just got a brilliant idea!" He grinned, chugging the rest of his milk, "Have you ever been exploring?" He put his cut down. Zexion finished his glass off too.

"Where?"

"In the castle, of course!" Demyx rolled his eyes, as though everyone did that, "'Cause, in case you haven't noticed, I'm nocturnal... So exploring is all I really ever do. I bet I could tell you what's in every room in this castle."

"Oh, no... I haven't." Zexion couldn't possibly imagine how knowing everything in every room in a boring castle such as this one could possibly be helpful. He couldn't imagine how anything that Demyx did was productive. He had no idea how Demyx even got into Organization 13.

"Oh, then you probably don't know that we have a piano on the second highest floor," Demyx pointed up in the general direct direction, "It's pretty old, but I tune it every now and then. I'm not very good at piano, and I don't really remember what it sounds like when someone who can play it plays it... you know? So can you play for me?" Demyx pleaded, putting on a stupid, unbecoming face with big eyes that didn't help his persuasive skills at all.

… Okay, it helped a little.

"... Fine."

"Great! Follow me." Demyx stood, leaving the kitchen at a power walk from his excitement. Zexion sighed and followed.

"But I'm warning you, I've only played once as a nobody." Zexion said to Demyx's back.

"Not a problem." Demyx smiled.

"And I don't know how good I was as a somebody."

"Better than me, probably." Demyx chirped, still unfazed. The two of them walked up two flights of staircases.

"Why do you walk everywhere?" Zexion asked curiously. Demyx laughed.

"Because portals are unnatural, and if you don't get some exercise, you'll get fat." That was the stupidest reason Zexion had ever heard, but he didn't say anything. Demyx opened a door that Zexion had always assumed was a broom closet, and ushered him in. Demyx turned on the light and shut the door.

Up against a wall in the corner, between a stack of boxes of god knows what, and a shelf with jars of dull grey and green liquids, was a white piano. Demyx hadn't been lying when he'd said it was old. The finish was worn, and when Zexion lifted the lid, the ebony keys had been worn a little, and the keys had turned a little off white, much like the rest of the piano.

"Are you sure this is in tune?"

"It's last check up was a month ago, it should be fine," Demyx reassured, sitting down an old couch much like the ones in other more inhabited rooms, "Play something."

Zexion was about to protest, but he decided it was useless. The blonde was pretty stubborn when he wanted something. He took a seat on the matching stool, running his fingers on the keyboard.

"What do you want me to play?"

"Do you remember anything?"

"... No."

"Then, just mess around, it'll come back to you," Demyx said knowingly, "That's like I forgot how to play my sitar, but it came back to me just like that. You just have to remind your fingers." In theory, he sounded right, but Zexion was still a little doubtful. He looked down at the keys, frowning in concentration. He definitely recognized one key as the middle C, so he placed his right hand's thumb on it and played it. He played C, D, E, F and G with all five fingers a little awkwardly, his hands were a little flat, but when he tried to curl them, it didn't feel right.

He played a couple scales after that. He could feel the music flowing back into him slowly. He remembered one particular song... but not it's name. He played it slowly, then faster and faster, gaining confidence rapidly, both his hands flew over the keys easily, at one point, he even remembered how to use the pedals, and soon he was able to play even with his eyes shut.

The song was soft like a lullaby at first, but it built up into the middle part, becoming more lively and complex, before dying back down into its dream like tempo, and finishing with a perfect chord.

"Hm. Not too shabby."

"'Not too shabby'?! That was awesome, Zexion! I wish I could play like you! That was so beautiful!" Demyx gushed, grinning widely. Zexion blushed a little, but shook his head.

"No. It wasn't meant to be played that fast."

"That's okay. I play my songs really fast all the time, 'cause it makes me feel like I'm totally shredding." Demyx laughed. Zexion scrunched his nose. What was 'shredding'?

"What's it called?"

"Don't know," Zexion sighed, "But it's not one of the harder ones."

"You can play stuff even more elaborate than that? That's so cool..." Demyx said jealously, "You must have been a pianist or something."

"No, I was a violinist," Zexion corrected, surprising even himself, "I mean, not a violinist as a career, just... better at violin than piano."

"Really? Do you remember your somebody life...?"

"No, I don't," Zexion scrunched his nose in confusion, "I don't know how I knew that..."

"Huh. That's weird. Well, if only we had a violin, right?" Demyx chuckled wistfully, "You must have loved it..."

"What?"

"Well, because when you played that, it had so much emotion, so it was like the piano was part of you, and the song was alive somehow. But if that's not even your 'dominant instrument', then... man, I wish we had a violin," Demyx looked out the window longingly, "I wonder if any other worlds would have one? Beast's Castle, maybe? You could play in the ballroom..."

Zexion's eyes widened all of a sudden. Playing violin... in a ballroom... why...?

"Nngh..." Zexion groaned, pushing the heel of his palm into his temple. A horrible pain throbbed through his head, making the room spin. Somehow, outside the ringing of his ears, he could hear Demyx saying his name over and over. His vision turned white and he felt his body collapsing...

_The ballroom was beautiful. Its walls were white, with gold linings and decorations in them. Some areas were tastefully draped in large curtains that were a shade slightly lighter than royal blue, with white tassels and decorations. To one end, there was a marble dance floor, where swaying bodies glided over it effortlessly. On the other end, there was a stage. And on that stage stood Ienzo._

_He stood with three other people, and in his hands was a jet black violin that contrasted starkly with the white suit he had on. And he was playing the violin at a rather slow pace for the dancers to waltz to. Slowly the other three in the quartet of violinists dropped out, leaving Ienzo with a solo. His music was beautiful, and the acoustics of the room was great, his song filled the entire room, stunning every person in it._

_When he finished, the audience clapped loudly, and the violinists bowed politely before stepping to the back of the stage, forming a perfect line. A old man with blonde hair stood on the stage with a warm smile. He wore his usual red robes, despite the formal occasion._

"_I thank you all for attending this fundraiser ball. And I thank you, Ienzo," The old man turned to him, smiling gratefully, "For his spectacular violin playing, I'm sure I was not the only one that was impressed with your expertise." Ienzo bowed again, though his face was still composed and expressionless. The audience clapped again and then the old man began his speech._

"_For years, our group of genius scientists have been researching hard into the workings of the heart, and the..."_

_-x-_

_Ienzo gasped, feeling thee wind blown out of him from the kick to his gut. A mysterious figure with a black coat and a hood that covered his face stood over him menacingly. The stranger held his violin in his hands as if it were a weapon._

"_How dare you. How dare you impress Ansem. I am the greatest scientist on this team, and no one will get in the way of my plans."_

"_Y-you..." Ienzo gasped, coughing up blood. The figure laughed, holding up the matching bow of his violin._

"_How ironic would it be, to have a violinist, beaten to death by his own violin?"_

"N-no. That violin... is worth..." Ienzo winced and glared up at the figure, "If you damage it... I will kill_ you." But the man just laughed again._

"_You?! Kill me?!" There was a kick to his head that left it ringing and throbbing. He could feel the blood soaking in his hair._

"_You can't kill me, look at you! You're a weakling!" The man sneered, "You're weak! But you're smart. And I need you. What I don't need is you taking the limelight, and what you don't need is this stupid violin and those stupid emotions." The man tucked the violin under his arm, then held out the bow as if to snap it clean in half._

"_NO!"_

"_No?"_

"_P-Please... I'll do anything, just don't--"_

"_Anything? How about this, then. If you help me with my plans, and join my Organization, then I won't damage your violin. How's that?"_

"_Deal! Just give it back!"_

"_Who said anything about giving it back?"_

"_You sly, disgusting--"_

"_Ah, ah. Is that any way to talk to your Superior? Once you join my Organization for one month, then you'll get it back. You'll have to wait until Ansem's downfall first, though. The Organiation can't begin until Ansem's downfall. So, I guess you've got some waiting to do."_

"_You...! Give it back!" Ienzo struggled to get up again, but his muscles were aching and the man just killed him down again._

"_Stop it, I'm being generous... VI," The man smirked widely, "I'll even tell you wherre I'll keep it in the castle."_

"_What castle?!"_

_---_

"Zexion, wake up! Please, please wake up!"

Zexion groaned, opening his eyes and found that he was lying on a couch, not on the ground outside the ballroom... Demyx hovered over him with a quivering lip and worried eyes with wet lashes. Something in Zexion stirred at the sight of Demyx crying... could it be jealousy? It took a lot of emotion to cry...

"Thank God you... I couldn't tell if you'd died or something because we don't have heartbeats or pulses, so I was freaking out so bad!"

"When nobodies die, we fade into nothingness. If I were dead, I wouldn't have a corpse." Zexion said rather frankly.

"Well, sorry for not knowing, but one moment we were talking about violins and the next--"

"The violin!" Zexion gasped, sitting up suddenly, dizzy from such a violent movement. Ignoring his dizzy spell, he stood up from the couch and left the room without another word.

---

**Gawrsh, Wonder what'll happen next? Not even I know... Ahyuck Hyuck.**


End file.
